Tuesday, March 31, 2015

I livestreamed the dogs on the front lawn and gave a tour of the UC. I had to stop the dogs livestream fairly quickly because I was outside and noticed that the phone was using my data plan instead of wi-fi (I'm on a family data sharing plan so I didn't want to waste a lot of data), but the one I did in the UC was fairly successful at staying on the wi-fi.
For the dogs in the UC, I was showing off the dogs and actually got one of the dog handlers to talk to me in a short interview. Then I went up to the UC and gave a brief tour but I felt silly talking to myself and people kept saying hi to me. I guess I realized it's hard to be professional when people don't know you're streaming video.
I didn't really get any interactions (or any creepers) which I was kind of sad about.
I could see people using these livestreams for breaking news in-the-moment sort of events and for fun things like behind the scenes in newsrooms. I think it could work for both dramatic and mundane stories if they're interesting enough.
These tools also open up discussion for questions on ethics and the role of journalists. Although journalists can use these tools to tell a story, so can average citizens. So does that mean anybody can be a reporter now? Also will this put pressure on journalists to live stream all sorts of events as opposed to live tweeting them or live blogging them? In which case their job would just be to hold up a phone. I think it creates a lot of possibilities but also a lot of questions.

I thought it was an interesting experience using Meerkat and
Periscope to livestream around campus. I hadn’t heard of these tools prior to
using them, but I was able to live stream my way through the Fairmart library
with interactions of students at the computers, and with only one live follower
that I noticed. However, I wasn’t able to publish the video to twitter and I
may need to familiarize myself more with the app to be able to do so. I was
having trouble while using Meerkat and the videos that I attempted weren’t able
to work. This could be because I had poor service in that area of the English
building, so I wasn’t able to post the video to twitter either.

Although my attempts weren’t as successful as I would’ve
liked, I think that the live streaming concept is really cool in visually
telling a story, almost as if it’s your personal news station streaming from
your own phone. However, the quality of the images depends on your service and
Wi-Fi connection and they may not be as clear as when taking a normal video on
the iPhone. I think that this form of story telling is really similar to Yik
Yak or twitter where instead of images comments can be made on a live stream of
your community. I think that twitter does a good job of balancing content with
images and basically live streaming, but on Meerkat and Periscope we are able
to watch to stream live which is cool. I think this these tools are better
suited for dramatic events, especially because the quality isn’t great, there
needs to be an urgency and purpose to get it out on the web fast. In terms of how it affects society, I think it's similar to snapchat where people can stream out events to their audience, however, the issue of consent comes into play because it may be an event or action that the person doesn't want people seeing.

I think Meerkat and Periscope are really interesting tools and have a lot to offer. I used Meerkat to showcase campus tours. For some reason, I was having a hard time with the Wi-Fi not connecting, so I didn't have any followers because the connection was so poor. I had to try to post the link several times, so by the time I got it working it was kind of a missed opportunity.

I used Periscope to show the dogs on the front lawn. That was pretty cool because I had a bunch of followers asking questions that I was able to answer. The whole scene was inherently visual and offered a lot of opportunities to talk to people. I did get some weird interactions from creepy people who were streaming my video, but I really liked the idea of what it had to offer.

As far as the ability to capture breaking news, I think the tools are pretty cool. Though it depends on your internet situation/data plan, if the tool was working flawlessly, it would be able to show a lot of stuff in real time that you wouldn't be able to if you were just recording video. I like that you have the live perspective and can just show exactly what's happening without the ability to edit things (with the exception of just omitting what you don't want to show).

It seems like we really captured the height of conversation around the tools on Monday. That afternoon, a notification popped up on my phone that someone I know in the professional sales world was live streaming a car ride in an Enterprise rental car. I've since read a bunch of articles about live streaming, and whether or not the tools are going to do all of the cool, influential things that they are being predicted to do. It's funny to see what people decide to live stream and what viewers will decide to care about and watch.

There are a lot of ethical issues that come to mind with the tools, though. I think about how people will react knowing that anything they could be doing has the potential to be live streamed to the entire world. I also think about when the first big issue with one of these tools will arise. There's a lot of potential for people, especially college students, to abuse the benefits of the tools. The same way Yik Yak has been harmful to people for its anonymous principles, Meerkat and Periscope could expose people's private lives without consent.

I used Meerkat to do a tour of Lehigh's Linderman library. It crashed partway through, which was disappointing because I had some followers who were asking me questions. Since it's a library I couldn't really talk, so I had walked down to Lucy's cafe so I could talk and answer some questions. But by that point, the connection had dropped and not as many people joined in the second time I restarted it. But the first part was a lot of fun because I think our library is pretty unique and very pretty so there was a lot to show people.

I periscoped the dogs on the front lawn which was a lot of fun. I felt kind of weird talking so I didn't do that much. People notice when you're holding your phone at an upright angle instead of like you would if you were texting or something. It felt creepy. And speaking of creepy, while on periscope it was much easier to get a larger audience – it felt weird broadcasting to strangers. They were asking me where I was (which was a reasonable question) but also for me to turn the camera around so they could see my face.

I think it is suited for a lot of cool things. Breaking news is cool, because video can't lie. You're getting firsthand, live footage of whatever is happening. There's no need for remembering details or trying to understand the subtext of a news story – you're seeing it right before your eyes and get to judge the story from an impartial perspective. This reminds me of what journalists have been doing in Ferguson with Vine and Snapchat. Except now Meerkat/Periscope don't have time limits and are always live.

But I also think regular stories have potential. I browsed through Periscope a bit today and found some entertaining things that I would probably never watch on YouTube. A guy was streaming playing a record that I really liked and it was cool to listen along with other people and hear him talk about it. I also watched an editorial meeting for a news organization I follow. These aren't things I'd really care as much about if I didn't know they were happening right now and I had the possibility to ask questions and interact.

I think this raises some ethics questions and also continues the myth of journalists not being necessary anymore, because "anyone can be a reporter on the street." But people still need to be using these tools in news-worthy ways and be in the right place at the right time. In terms of ethics, I think it's a little rocky because how can you ask people for their permission to record them if you already are? I'm not sure if privacy is just going to be lessened, you can't have as high of an expectation anymore, or there are going to be people who are very against these tools, similar to glass.

Kelsey's livestreaming experience:
During my first livestream, I showed the viewers the balcony of the U.C., which is one of my favorite spots on campus in the spring. I tried to narrate the footage by talking about why I enjoy that location while showing them all the different views from that spot. The footage was kind of distant, since I was videotaping people and buildings below, which were at least 50 feet away from me. I do think it looked cool, though, since the footage was kind of a bird's eye view of campus. I kind of panicked a little bit when I realized that I had run out of things to say, so I cut it off pretty quickly.

For the second livestream, I shot some footage of the stress relief dogs near the flagpole. I tried to get really close to them, so viewers could see the dogs from the perspective of someone who was crouching down and petting them.

This was the first time I've ever livestreamed anything, so I was a little nervous while shooting it. It was a little intimidating to be put on the spot and know that you had to think of what to say while completing it live. It was also a little different to not be able to edit out pauses or mistakes.

I'm not sure if I received any interaction, because I was so focused on videotaping the scene and thinking of what to say.

I think that this type of livestreaming would be best for unexpected and important events, such as a spontaneous rally or gathering. It's convenient, since you can keep these applications on your phone and be prepared at any moment on the street to use them. I will definitely keep them, for both journalism as well as just my personal life, because I think that they really increase the tools available to normal citizens who don't have expensive camera or video equipment at their disposal. I think these resources are awesome to increase the legitimacy of citizen journalists, because they can so easily download the applications, use them in their lives, and then upload them to social media and reach so many different people.

Monday, March 30, 2015

The idea of live-streaming is very interesting to me, although it's clear that the technology for it still has a long way to go. Since I don't have iOS8, I was only able to use Periscope and can't comment on the usability of Meerkat, but I still think the technology itself has a lot of potential.

I decided to do a couple tours of various parts of campus, going around the UC and the front lawn with all the tours going on today. Then I went through STEPS and gave a tour of the various floors and things within the building. I had trouble for both broadcasts in terms of posting to Twitter. I tried different things for both times and neither time it successfully posted to Twitter. I got some interaction, but I can see how posting it to Twitter would obviously increase the following, especially for me considering how many followers I have. I still got a few people watching the videos I did.

I actually got the most interaction/viewers for the practice video we did in class. I got lots of hearts and a peak of about 25 viewers. Some of the people watching were creepy or likely just trying to find out personal information, but that's just a part of what this technology brings.

I think Periscope has many features in the world of news, but mostly for either visually appealing news or breaking news items. While walking around campus and giving a tour can be interesting, it wouldn't get as many viewers as a live-stream of an event on campus or a sporting event, which is where it might apply to me directly. I think it can work for multiple types of stories, but it just depends on how you use it. While live-streaming a class may sound visually boring, content-wise it could be very interesting depending on the topic of discussion.

The idea that anyone can live-stream anything at any time to Twitter is a little disconcerting, especially to the average person. But when you sit down and think about it, it's not much further than being able to take a picture/video and post it anywhere afterwards...it just cuts out the middle part. I definitely looked ridiculous holding my phone up to things and seemingly talking to myself, but I think with a little time, this technology could be utilized in a great way in journalism.

For the Livestreaming Video assignment, I used Meerkat to give a live tour of Lehigh's campus and their buildings and I used Periscope to show my viewers multiple perspective student tours that were happening all day. While walking around, I noticed some people were looking at me wondering why I was talking to myself with my camera pointed at them, but this didn't phase me. And although I did not get much interaction when I was showing Lehigh's buildings, I did end up talking to a prospective student who came up to me with her parents. I got it all on camera while livestreaming too! They asked me about Lehigh and if I enjoyed my years here (obviously I said yes), so for those of you who were watching you probably heard me talk up Lehigh!

I think some of the reporting assignments that I could see myself using Meerkat for would be any event or activity happening. This could include sport games, breaking news, concerts, meetings…etc. I think the live streaming could also be interesting for just regular stories, either about a person or a group. Honestly, I think Meerkat or Periscope could be used not only for dramatic events but for mundane things as well. If the event is very dramatic and the reporter is running around and moving to various locations then livestreaming may get tricky due to shakiness and movement. Of course the most challenging thing about the app is that you cannot go back and edit the video, so you have to be prepared for whatever happens.

The fact that we live in a society where everyone is capable of doing livestream video and distributing it is almost overwhelming, but exciting. Our technology is so advanced that I can log into an app like Meerkat or Periscope and have people from around the world watch what I am currently doing, and vice versa. Today, I had people commenting and writing to me from different countries in class while I was livestreaming. It's just crazy to think that one app can connect you with people that you probably will never meet in person. Also, I noticed that using the app got me more followers on twitter, and that is always a plus!

Overall, I had a lot of fun with both livestreaming apps. I think both are really cool to use and I would't mind checking out other people's livestreams. I definitely would want to use this app when attending a bigger and more entertaining event, like a concert or festival.

Learning curve: Learning to use it wasn't bad at all. I had someone who had previously had glass explain it to me again and 10 minutes later I felt like I had a grasp on how to use glass without struggling. It's really easy to use and while I sometimes mistook which direction did what, it was pretty straightforward and simple to understand.

Camera: I'd say quality-wise it's the same, but I still like my phone camera better because I have more control of exactly what I want to shoot. I used the viewfinder in glass a lot, but I still felt like I couldn't see the picture very well until I transferred them t my computer. With my phone, I have more control of angles and getting exactly hat I want in a picture.

Social Interaction: I wore it on a Saturday and I got a lot of looks from people. I had a special tour with kids from New York and they asked a lot of questions about it. When I went to Spring Fling, the stares made me really uncomfortable because Grace Hal was packed with South Bethlehem residents and everywhere I looked they were staring at me. I also went to Alexandra's Bistro and the waitress looked sorta confused when she saw them. The interactions were interesting though. I either got a lot of stares or people asked me a lot of questions. One guy even asked me to take his picture! (see tweet above). It was sort of an uncomfortable experience.

Advantage/Disadvantages: Obviously this shoots really interesting first person video but for other things, it might get hard to shoot video, especially interviews because people might forget to stop moving their heads. Another disadvantage is that you don't have as much control over composition elements of the pictures and can shoot less interesting angles.

Unfortunately my day with glass started out with some technical difficulties that were frustrating. The photos I took would show up on the device, but not on the computer when I plugged it in. I finally found a workaround through screencast, but the quality was terrible.
I have no idea what went wrong, but luckily it started working again and I was able to get some material off of it.

I had already used glass in the past so the learning curve of getting familiar with it again was very short.

I have an iPhone 6 so I think the camera on that is a little better. The glass photos are crisp looking but the iPhone photos have a higher resolution and can be zoomed in on better if needed. Obviously the advantage of glass is the first-person vantage point. But if I was looking for high quality I think I'd choose my phone.

The social interactions were pretty awkward. I thought since I usually wear glasses it might just slide by but people noticed it right away, the second I walked in to my French class. "Wait, am I on it right now?" a girl in my class asked me. I had to explain this several times throughout the day, half the time the device wasn't even on and I was asked "Are you recording me?"

I found that carefully letting people look through it and see what it was like was the only way to help understand what I was seeing. And to be clear, these questions were never too concerned or put off by the device – it was more like they were just curious. I was surprised by how many people seemed to just be blown away by it or hadn't heard of it at all. I didn't think it carried the shock value it ended up having.

It was awkward walking around campus I felt like people noticed and looked at me funny so much so that I wanted to take it off a lot of the time. But the event I went to, Relay for Life, was a more comfortable environment and was a great, visual event to take photos and video at – as seen in my video. I guess it makes more sense to be wearing it at an event instead of just randomly around campus when people are walking to class.

I think glass is awesome and would be really cool if it were integrated into every day life. It's really just like having a smartphone up by your face. No more text neck! The first person angle is what I think a lot of social media photography is trying to capture anyway – what you're currently seeing and doing.

I guess privacy is an issue but it's just as easy to snipe pictures of people on your phone. I think glass can be even more noticeable at times because you have to raise your hand to push the button or use a voice command. I personally think it's a pretty nifty device that could become even better if made widely available and become socially acceptable.

Wearing Google Glass around for a day was certainly an interesting experience. Unfortunately, it rained for most of the day and I was unable to wear it outside much, but I did get a few opportunities to wear it around campus and see people's reactions. The learning curve wasn't too bad, maybe 30 minutes or so of messing around with the device. By the end of the day I was far more comfortable using it, which will bode well for when I have it again for the second Google Glass assignment. Framing the pictures and video interview took a little getting used to, as I often put my head too low, but I soon got used to this as well.

The camera itself seems pretty solid, although maybe a little bit lesser in quality than that of my iPhone 4s. It was hard to not turn or move my head at all while taking pictures because just a little bit of motion would make the picture blurry. One interesting thing was that even when I was in a loud environment, the voice activation was still very accurate. I thought I would have to use the button more, but the voice activation is way more convenient.

I think the social interaction was the most interesting part of the assignment. Surprisingly, I didn't have anyone come up to me and tell me they were uncomfortable and thought it was weird. In fact, I had about four or five people come up to me and asked if it was Glass and wanted to hear more about it. I'm not sure if this was everyone's experience, but it seemed like it was received well. Some people still definitely gave me stares, especially the lady swiping me into the dining hall for dinner. It felt a little uncomfortable with all the looks, but I got used to it eventually.

Google Glass is absolutely great for first-person video. It really gives the viewer a good experience of what it's like to be the subject of the video without actually appearing in it. I think if it were a more well-known and accepted device, many more people would use it and the lack of awkwardness would allow people to take better shots. It definitely has a positive network externality. One negative is obviously that the camera quality isn't as high and that you can't zoom in. It really forces you to zoom with your feet more than with any device I've ever used since you can't hold it in front of you. Also, I was fully aware that I looked ridiculous when I was recording or taking a picture. I guess I just need to work on my Glass posture. Other than that, I was pleased with the device and am excited to use it again.

My video was on the Spring Carnival at Lamberton, which can be found here.

Learning curve: Learning how to use Google Glass was awesome, although not easy at first. Although we practiced taking videos and pictures in class, admittedly, I was somewhat panicked before learning how to turn on the wifi and bluetooth on the phone and getting used to its features. I read over the directions several times and searched the web until I was finally able to set up the wifi and its sharing ability properly. It took me about a half hour of playing around and reading directions before I got used to the signals and could take videos and pictures on my own. However, by the end of the day I loved using the Glass and I found myself doing things and thinking "this could be a great picture to take with Glass." I think it takes a day to get comfortable with the device, and the the thing that I struggled with when making my video was the sound on the Glass. When I uploaded the video onto Final Cut, a message popped up that said it did not recognize this kind of file, so it converted it and the sound can't be heard in the video. For the next assignment I need to make sure all sound problems are squared away before recording.

Camera compared to smartphone: I think that the quality of the camera is pretty good compared to my iPhone, and I noticed that in one of the pictures I tweeted out, the lighting showed up really well and it almost looked like an iPhone photo. However in other shots they were pretty blurry and lag time was a lot longer than the iPhone. It definitely takes some time to take a picture with Glass.

Wearing Glass: Wearing Glass during the day was pretty fun when I was in a social setting, like hanging out at my sorority house or while I covering an event because people were really interested in the Glass and thought it was really futuristic. However, walking around campus with the Glass was different because most people just gave weird looks as I passed.

Advantages and disadvantages of Glass: I think it's an awesome advantage to be able to take photos and record things hands free, and if you don't have your cell phone on you, or can't use it it's another cool alternative. However, I think that actually doing activities on the iPhone has its advantages because it is way faster at retrieving information and it takes great quality pictures with less lag time.

Learning Curve:
It took me forever to learn how to use it! Luckily, I had the J298 class with Jada Green and Tess Jennings that day, so they gave me a little refresher and tips on how to use it! I first tried to use the buttons and tapping it in order to do the commands, but I then found that it was easier to just use the voice commands. Either way, I felt very much unsure of what I was doing until at least 30 minutes into my day.

Camera:
I wasn't a huge fan of the camera, especially since you cannot zoom in or out. Even though I rarely use my zoom function on my camera, I think that it is more necessary for Google glass. For example, if I want to become physically closer to a subject in order to take a picture on my camera, it is much less invasive since only my camera needs to be near them. However, with Google glass, since you wear it on your head, it's kind of weird to get that close to people. I think that it would be a much better tool if they either added a zoom or made it easier to use when not physically wearing it on your head, so you can at least hold it in your hand and view the image while taking the photos.

Social Interaction:
A lot of people thought it was really cool! I'm friends with a lot of engineering students, and they all wanted to use it and try it out! They all were very curious about the technology and immediately they began thinking about ways to integrate it into other products or designs. Outside of my friends and friendly acquaintances, I did get a lot of strange looks, but I also felt that most of the looks were more curious than judgmental. When I stopped to ask students who were petting the dogs if I could take a picture of them, they all instantly responded by saying how cool Google glass is and asking me about how it works. I thought that it was interesting that so many reactions, even the anonymous ones, seemed so positive. I did have a few people ask me if I was recording them once they started asking me questions, but most of the time they asked me jokingly and seemed good-natured about it. I didn't feel like anyone was angry or suspicious of me.

Advantages:
I definitely liked the perspective it offers, especially with the video function. I think that you can capture a lot of more engaging, personal images/videos by putting the photographer/videographer more into the product this way. Since it's on your head, anytime people are captured through the camera, they are very much engaging with the person whose head its on, and that comes through in the images. I think that regular cameras put more distance between the camera, the subject, and the photographer. It's much less personal, so I think it might be better for stories/articles that have less emotional content.

Disadvantages:
Again, I think the lack of zoom is unfortunate. If you want to do a close-up, you have to be in someone's face practically, which I think is invasive in an unprofessional way. I also struggled with the photo function once I added the photos to the video for my organization slideshow. For some reason, the photos functioned like they would have if I had taken the photos on my phone vertically. I was wearing Google glass on my head, and I don't know how I could have gotten the angle wrong, since I wasn't tilting my head to that extreme. So, I think that was a problem with Google glass.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

In general, I think Glass has a lot of potential. It was kind of uncomfortable and gave me a headache from all of the looking up that I felt like I had to do, but it's a really interesting tool that introduces more of a first person perspective than an iPhone camera or digital camera can offer. Wearing the device took some getting used to, mostly because I had to remind myself that I didn't have to always be looking through the plastic piece when I wasn't taking photos or videos.

Additionally, the social interaction aspect was humorous. I had a lot of people doing double-takes and staring at me. Some asked what it was and I was surprised to learn that more people than I would have guessed already knew about Glass. It's possible that they had friends who took J230 in the past, but for a device that isn't around anymore and wasn't that accessible when it was available, I was impressed with people's awareness. I even had a friend at Lafayette tell me how lucky I was to try out the device because he said he heard about it and thought it was cool. A couple of people asked me if I was recording because they could see the light in the plastic piece.

Sometimes the device was difficult to use. When it get's overheated, videos slow down and the sound doesn't match up with the picture. The quality of the photos/video are pretty decent, and once you learn how to turn your head to the right angle to make the image straight, it works pretty well. I definitely had to zoom with my feet, though, because there's no other way to get close to a subject with this device.

With the assignments, I felt like I didn't have a tough time with the short video/slideshow project. Danny didn't seem too fazed by the device and was able to talk to me pretty easily. I shared the same issue as Ali with the photos not being the same width as the video, so if I'm doing something wrong I definitely want to figure out why-- since it's not an issue of holding the camera vertically or horizontally.

The learning curve wasn't bad. Even if you don't remember which way to swipe, there's only so many options to choose from so navigating around Glass isn't impossible. I found that I actually liked using the voice activation more than I would have expected.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Overall, I think Glass is a really neat device in terms of its capabilities, and although it didn't take too long to understand how to use and work Glass, it was a bit difficult due to its size. The lens, in general, is very small and depending on one's eyes and face, being able to see the screen and its clarity differs for everyone. I realized that most of the time I had to squint my left eye in order to see the screen better with my right. I think it's great that our class has the opportunity to learn about Glass, but I am not sure that I would actually buy the device if I had the chance (in comparison to other technology out there).

To be honest, I enjoy the photos and videos that I take on my iPhone better than the ones with Glass. I realized one of the problems I had with Glass is that because it's hard to see the screen, I was unable to get the right angle when taking a picture, or it wasn't zoomed in close enough. Since Glass does not zoom the only way to get a close enough picture is by moving closer to the object, however, even when I did this the picture still didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. When I use my iPhone I have the ability to zoom in with the touch of a button and I can see exactly what the photo will look like before I take it. With Glass, I was unable to see what I was taking a picture of because of the size. I also felt like Glass took a bit longer in terms of taking a picture or video. There was a hesitation before capturing.

Wearing Glass all day was a bit strange. Since it was a blizzard on the day I wore Glass, I didn't spend much time outside, but I was often in buildings and my own house. When I first walked downstairs to my kitchen my friends were very confused. They had never seen the device before, but when I told them what Glass was they thought it was actually really cool. When I was using the device in front of people, I often heard laughs because my eyes would be directed upwards and people said I looked funny, but I didn't care because I knew these people. When I was in public with strangers, however, I felt a little awkward at time, maybe because everyone kept wondering what type of glasses I had on. I think being in public with Glass and actually wearing them was the hardest part about this experience. Although I thought that by the end of the day I would forget they were on my head, I didn't. I knew they were there the whole time and they were pretty distracting.

I think one of the advantages about Glass is that it's very accessible. When you are wearing them all you have to do is tap, swipe and you can take a picture right then and there. With other devices, like a smartphone, laptop or computer you have to wait to turn the device on, go to a certain app and then take the picture. It's a much longer process I would say with other gadgets in comparison to Glass. A disadvantage would be the public appearance of the device. If you wanted to sneak a picture of someone with a smartphone, it's not very hard to do, but when you have Glass sitting on your head it's very noticeable and people realize what you are doing. If Glass was designed a bit better I think it would be a huge success, because most of the people I talked to when I told them about Glass said that they would probably buy the device if it didn't look the way it did. In conclusion, wearing and using Glass was definitely an experience and although I don't know everything about the gadget, I hope to learn more about how it works.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Google Glass is definitely a device to get used to. If I'm being totally honest, I didn't really enjoy using it for a couple reasons. First, it was a little tough for me to focus on the screen--it always seemed a little transparent and only looked normal if i squinted one eye. Next, there was the obvious uncomfortable aspect of wearing a weird device on your head in public. Mostly I just got weird looks, and only people who were in the direct vicinity of me (or were friendly with me) actually asked what it was. After hearing me explain, they did seem to think it was cool though, and most people who asked what it was wanted to try it on.

Lastly, it just seemed that for its difficulties and social awkwardness, glass just wasn't all that useful. Maybe it was just because I didn't have it hooked up to wifi to use the other features, but it seemed like I could have taken better quality video and photos with my iPhone. I understand how glass would be great if I needed my hands free, but for the basic things I was doing yesterday, it seemed unnecessary.

As for the assignments, my interview subject seemed distinctly weirded out by the glasses, and didn't really know where to look. I think she was an extreme case though, and doubt another interview would be as awkward. I did run into a problem with the photos not covering the video in final cut...I'm not sure if I missed how to not make this happen, but it's definitely something to correct before the next glass project.

All complaints aside (I swear I'm done) the learning curve wasn't too bad at all. Once you get the hang of which way to swipe and when to tap, it isn't difficult to get glass to do what you want. The voice controls are also surprisingly good--sometimes I was sure I didn't say something clearly enough and glass caught it anyways. I did feel very high tech bossing glasses around with my voice, though.

Here is the Google Glass schedule for parts 1 and 2. Please note the person coming after you on the schedule, as you are responsible for handing it off either late the night before their day or early morning the next day. Please be considerate of your classmate who has projects to complete just like you do!

If you want to switch days with someone, I need to be notified in advance so I can adjust your deadline expectations accordingly.

PART I

PART II

March 30 to April 1: GabyApril 2 to April 4: KelleyApril 6 to April 8: EmilieApril 9 to April 11: KelseyApril 13 to April 15: AustinApril 16 to April 18: AliApril 20 to April 22: MadisonApril 23 to April 25: SamApril 27 to April 29: Danielle

Friday, March 13, 2015

After I finished the video and tweeted out the pitch it totally slipped my mind to write this reflection, my apologies!!

I've learned a lot about how to edit the video together so it looks as seamless as possible. But I've also come to realize that it starts in the filming. I think the more I'm able to coach my interview subject and ask the right questions, the easy it'll be to edit it more fluidly.

The most important thing I learned was to leave a little space. I became too attached to all of the things my subject had said. I needed to learn how to cut out some of the less exciting things (which I didn't even realize weren't as important) and give the video some room to breathe.

I like the shot of him in his office and I think I did a good job asking him a variety of questions (that I had prepared beforehand) that I was able to edit the video into a few different themes. I liked the angles I was able to get of him in the classroom, it was a lot of pressure and a little scary to record him during class but I think it really paid off in the end.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Overall, I am learning to enjoy videography. Editing video is a tedious process that can be frustrating, but I'm starting to like it. From this first experience, I learned more about framing and lighting, so I will be using the feedback I received about my first video to improve any issues I might encounter for the next project. I think I need to get better at working with the subject of my videos to get them to give me footage that I can more easily edit after the filming process. I also need to be aware of lighting and sound and feeling more comfortable asking a subject to move to a different area in order to get better lighting.

I do like the b-roll that I got from the project I just did. I felt like I moved around and got footage from many different angles and was able to pick up some strong environmental sound that I incorporated into video after receiving edits. I also think I was able to get my subject to say a lot of interesting things in the interview footage, but I felt like some of the things she said were difficult to visually represent. In the future, I want to make sure I pick subjects that are visual and offer a lot of b-roll opportunities. This project showed me how important b-roll is to making videos interesting for a viewer.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

My video project was a bit of a rough one, mostly due to the technical difficulties I experienced with my first subject. After finding a second subject though, I was able to put together a more acceptable video. I liked my choice of subject because art is already a very visual thing, and so I had fun getting shots of Travers and his students in action. I realized after looking at my project, I framed the a-roll a little awkwardly, with Travers’ head too close to the top of the screen. Also, while I was going through my b-roll, I noticed some of the lighting was too dim, making several shots unusable. I also saw that some of the shots were a little shaky. These are things I would definitely double check next time.

As far as editing, I found I enjoyed editing my video more than shooting it. It was fun to find ways to solve problems, organize the clips and cut the audio to try and make a cohesive story. There’s definitely always room to get better, and I felt that going through the project again with my second subject taught me things I missed on the first. Next video I do, I’d like to correct the shooting issues I encountered, and ALWAYS make sure I have memory and battery!

Overall I enjoyed the project although I had some difficulty finding a professor to interview in the beginning, I'm really happy I ended up interviewing Rita because she was really easy to talk to and film being that she's a really nice, talkative, and outgoing person. I think it also helped to bring me out of my comfort zone as I was looking for professors to interview, and I even asked some whom I had never met before or taken a class with when I learned that I was running out of options for interview subjects. As a journalist, I'm learning it's an important skill to get out of your comfort zone and interview random strangers sometimes and you learn how to get people to agree to be in video while doing so. However, for the next video project it would be definitely be easier to reach out to interview subjects sooner so that I have one lined up and I can maximize my time with them better.

After my first video, (which on a side note, I may have deleted by accident on the account after revising it) I felt like needed a lot more B roll of the students interacting in the Women's Center, the discussions that Rita was involved in, and some more footage of the environment in general. After going back to get some footage of a discussion and students interacting, as well as some more pictures of environment in the Women's Center, I think it added some much needed action to the video and broke up the pieces of her talking with visual images. Although she was an interesting speaker, I think even more B roll would have been necessary especially when the subject isn't as interesting and kind of drones on.

Although Rita said a lot of interesting things, I really trired to cut out as much as possible and just strung the few really interesting and important sentences together to shorten the video. I think that going foreword in my future video projects this can be done even more, and I'll get better at cutting out the "ums" and pauses that are unnecessary in the video. The biggest thing I wish I could change out this video is the couple of split image and video frames that appear when I added my pictures as B rolls. I think that by taking videos of still images in the futures instead of pictures will fix this problem, so I really want to in cooperate that into my next video so that it doesn't appear like it did in this one.

This was a very interesting experience as it gave me another chance to refine my video skills while still using a phone to do the shooting. I know next time I'll do a better job of contacting people earlier, as I had a problem with professors saying no or not responding.

As for the actual video, next project I'll look to refine my audio skills. I liked the variety of b-roll that I got, and my a-roll seemed pretty good too, but I had a little trouble with how loud things should be. Bumping up the volume of the a-roll and decreasing the volume of the music should help. Also, learning how to use a little silence or just use the sound from b-roll will be good techniques to apply in the next video so that it isn't just a full video of a-roll and no time to breathe.

Overall though, I liked what I produced and look to continue some of the skills I applied to this video. It was a little awkward at first getting up in the professor's face for close shots, but after a while I got used to it. Seeing the final project and all the clips I got was very rewarding, and I hope to recreate that feeling with the next video I have to complete.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Here is my original video if you haven't seen it. I had made edits and uploaded it on YouTube earlier today, but for some reason it never published on YouTube. When I went back to Coppee, it was locked and I was unable to get in (just my luck). Fortunately I did not make too many edits to the video because my ultimate goal was to get more B roll when Professor Zhang was teaching in class Thursday, but since the school closed Thursday, this was not possible. One of the edits I did do today was cutting the part at the end when Casey Johnson says his name and year. I had a title for him already, so introducing himself was unnecessary. Overall, I thought this assignment was important because it made you step out of your comfort zone. It was definitely awkward at times when filming her teaching, which is why I believe I didn't get as much B roll. If I were to do this again, I would get different angles while filming and get better quality footage in terms of lighting and positioning. When I edited the video I also tried taking out some of the professor's "umms" and "yeahs" because these words are unnecessary in the video. I am glad we have another video assignment coming up because I want to use what I have learned from this first video and improve. I don't think this assignment showed my overall strengths in terms of filming and editing. Video editing isn't the easiest, but I am starting to understand how it works and am excited for the next group video project.

I really enjoyed doing this assignment because it forced me to think visually in a situation that might not be so visually interesting. That's why I tried to get lots of different angles of the teacher in her classroom, because she was doing the same things over and over and the only way to change the shots were by moving the angle of the shot. For my next video project I want to take into account finding good environmental sound and trying to have a shorter interview so that the video lends itself better to silences in between thoughts.

I think I did a good job. Especially once I had the revision in because the B-roll was more in line with what the student and teacher were talking about in the interview.

Next time, I'll definitely take way more B roll, so I have more of a variety of angles. I thought I took a lot, but I realized that I still did not have as much variety as I would have liked, especially with the angles. I thought I did a good job with that when I videotaped him playing the violin on his own, because I know him really well and didn't feel as shy about having the camera closer to him. However, I didn't move around as much during the orchestra and quartet sections, because I felt like I was distracting from their practice and that I was kind of in their way. I know that's something that I just need to get over, since the purpose of my being there is tape them, and if I don't get quality shots, I'm not helping anyone. So, next time, I'll move around when taping bigger crowds and just navigate around them, even if that is more challenging. I also need to make sure that I have enough space on my phone at all times, because I also unexpectedly ran out of space towards the end of the interview. One of the reasons why I chose him and that I really liked was that I could show him visually performing his craft, because it lent itself so nicely to a video clip. I think that in the future, even if the topic is not as visually appealing, I will also try to find ways to make it so.

After spring break we’ll be in the second half of the semester. The first half is spent assessing where your individual skills are and getting everyone on the same page. The second half of the class is more project based with more in-class work time and multiple deadlines

Week of March 15

Covering:

Documentary stories

Google Glass

Assigned:

Day With Glass project

Personal website project

Final multimedia story project

Due:

Day With Glass project (due date determined by checkout date)

Week of March 22

Covering:

WordPress front pages

Data visualization

Assigned:

Visual Data assignment

Glass process video

Glassumentary

Due:

Group Documentary project (March 23)

Day With Glass project (due date determined by checkout date)

Visual Data assignment (March 28)

Week of March 29

Covering:

Audio and podcasting

Multimedia packaging

Assigned:

Audio assignment

Due:

Glass process video (three days after your checkout date)

Audio assignment (April 4)

Week of April 5

Covering:

Viewing group documentaries

Custom mapping

Assigned:

Mapping assignment

Due:

Final edits to the Group Documentary project (April 6)

Glass process video (three days after your checkout date)

Mapping assignment (April 11)

Week of April 12

Covering:

Annotation

Assigned:

Annotation assignment

Due:

Glass process video (three days after your checkout date)

Personal website project (April 18)

Annotation assignment (April 18)

Week of April 19

Assigned:

Work week

Due:

Glass process video (three days after your checkout date)

Week of April 26

Assigned:

Presentation week. We will present your final projects to the class for comments and revision suggestions